Tough as nails little girls

SPOKANE, Wash. April 4-6. Morning sunlight filled The Podeum Arena. The windows near the ceiling let the light shine down on the 2025 USAW Women's Wrestling National Championship, illuminating these young women's devotion to their sport.

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Coaching literature often claims that young women favor relational environments, whereas young men respond to direct, competitive methods. But these generalizations can limit our coaching effectiveness.

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A study on Olympic wrestling performance did find differences in how male and female wrestlers perform, indicating clear strengths and styles between the genders. While this study did not address coaching style, it did spotlight the nature of performance differences. Looking further, it's important to examine how stereotypes about aggression align with or contrast with these findings.

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Another study, by Manaswini Dhankar, found gender differences in psychological aspects among young athletes, with females showing higher levels of self-efficacy and motivation, suggesting a relationship between emotion and performance.

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The concept that, when faced with danger, men will fight or flight, and women will gather and tend, may not apply to these young women-warriors.

 

The stereotype that men are naturally more aggressive persists. Recent studies show that women in combat sports typically display lower levels of aggression compared to men, except for anger, where there is no significant difference, according to Kostorz and Sas-Nowosielski. This was seen in all female participation in sports, but particularly in disciplines that require fortitude and assertiveness.

 

While I have observed differences in emotional display, young men tend toward stoicism, and young women display emotions more openly—the question isn’t which is better; it’s whether each athlete’s emotional response helps or hinders their performance. Some wrestlers need to externalize emotion to access intensity; others need to internalize to maintain control. Effective coaching means individualizing your approach, rather than assuming that all women or all men need the same emotional environment. Some women prospered on brutal directness, and some men need an emotional connection to perform.

 

According to a study by Munish Kumar and Dr. Kuldeep Kumar Battan, male and female wrestlers differ in physical parameters.

 

A focus on speed, flexibility, and fluid transitions between moves distinguishes women’s techniques. For example, women frequently favor chain wrestling, linking maneuvers smoothly and using agility to outmaneuver opponents. Men typically generate speed from explosive muscular strength, executing more force-based techniques.

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At an elite level, however, effective chain wrestling—whether executed by male or female wrestlers—is essential for success. Chain wrestling tends to follow patterns.  For example, a duck-under creates a defensive reaction, which opens the single-leg opportunity. The transition exploits the opponent's counter-movement.

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High-amplitude throws and explosive doubles require technical precision, not just strength. The suplex succeeds through hip positioning and timing; the double-leg through penetration angle and head placement. While male wrestlers may have strength advantages on average, teaching female wrestlers to avoid these techniques because they're “power moves” is a coaching failure. Proper technique allows smaller, less powerful wrestlers to execute these attacks effectively.

 

Elite wrestlers of both genders must develop both power-based attacks and chain wrestling systems. Coaches who limit female wrestlers to “finesse” techniques or male wrestlers to “power” techniques are failing to develop complete athletes.

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A study by Ito, Crawshaw, and Kanosue examined gender differences in the use and effectiveness of "set-ups" during elite-level wrestling matches. The researchers focused on the specific technical aspects of how male and female wrestlers initiate and follow through with leg attacks, an element closely related to movement fluidity and fluent transitions. According to a study by Sho Ito and colleagues, male senior wrestlers showed a significant link between using a ‘set up’ and successfully executing leg attacks, as well as earning more points from them. At the same time, this association was not significant for female senior wrestlers or younger athletes.

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As wrestling evolves, it's key to recognize that traits often overlap across genders. According to research published by the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), a publisher of open-access scientific journals, while social conventions may discourage girls from participating in wrestling, the sport provides opportunities to challenge and revise these expectations.

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While gender stereotyping has proven insufficient in addressing the needs of all our athletes, there are differences in how young women and men wrestle and in their motivations to do well. Emotional expression and the freedom to express it may be cultural rather than gender-related, we should not dismiss them. The emotions a wrestler shows, or does not show, are a window into the way they feel inside. Paying attention can affect how they wrestle.

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The differences we see should be embraced, not smoothed over by homogenizing our coaching to achieve equal mat time. With the fast expansion in women’s wrestling, properly educated coaches are a rarity. These young women will become those coaches, and the sport will continue to evolve.

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As the emphasis moves from gender to skill and mindset, we must remember there are differences between the sexes, just maybe not the ones we think.

All images by Robbert Wijtman/CSC Sports Photography